Footwear cushion



Oct. 4, 1932. E BNRD 1,880,654

FOOTWEAR CUSHION Filed March 14. 1929 Patented Oct. 4, 1932 UNITED Srarase EDWARD BAIRD, OF LOSANGELES, (1ALIFOIEtN'IA FOOTWEAR CUSHION Application filed March 14, 1929. Serial No. 346,855.

My invention relates to footwear cushions and the principal obj ect of my invention is to provide a relatively simple, practical and in- Y expensive device that may be readily inserted into a shoe, slipper, boot or the like for the purpose of cushioning the arch, shank and heel-seat of the footwear, thereby materially improving the fit of the footwear and adding materially to the comfort of the wearer.

A further object of my invention is to provide a footwear cushion that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manu* facture and which is very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended. i

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a footwear cushioning device embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a device constructed in accordance with my invention and which is adapted to cushion the entire inner sole portion of a boot or shoe.

Referring by numerals to the accompanied drawing, which illustrates a practical einbodiment of my invention, 10 designates the lower layer of material that forms the body or the cushion, said lower layer being formed of any suitable soft material such as leather or a treated fabric, and the shape of said lower layer of material is such that it will fit directly over and cover the heel seat, arch and shank of a boot or shoe. The forward portion of this section of flexible material is-increased in width so as to overlie the upturned portion to the side of the arch.

The top layer or upper section 11 of the cushion is formed from a single piece of soft l'iexible material such as leather and the shape of the upper section or layer is practically the same as that of the lower section l0.

rihe edges of the upper and lower sections are skived in order that when said edges are secured to each other they will form arelatively thin, sharp edge'for the cushion. The edges of the upper and lower sections are secured to each other in any suitable manner, preferably by means of a suitable adhesive.

interposed between theV upper and lower layers of the upholstery is a layer 12 of elastic compressible mate-rial, preferably wool felt, the edges of which are skived in order that they may fit snugly within the narrow edges of the space between the layers 10 and 11. That portion of the compressible elastic body 12 that extends laterally and upwardly into those portions of the cushion that underlie the inner *longitudinalV arch is materially increased in thickness as designated by 13, thereby providing increased cushioning comfort for the arch portion of the foot of the wearer.

In some instances a short transversely disposed opening ll maybe formed between the front edges `ofthe upper andlower sections of the cushion,` which opening permits the insertion of a metatarsal button 15, which latter overlies the front central portion of the compressible elastic layer 12 and thus when the cushion is positioned'in a boot or shoe the kkinserted button occupies a position directly eneath the metatarsal section of the foot of the wearer.

The button or pad 15 may be formed of any suitable flexible or semi-flexible material such as leather, rubber, composition, fabric or a combination of the materials just mentioned.

ln all events the button or member that is inserted in the forward end of the cushioning member should be formed of soft flexible and preferably elastic material which is devoid of stiffness and rigidity in order `that it will cooperate with the other parts of the device in providing a cushion for the sole of the foot.

l/Vhere it is desired to provide a cushion for the entire sole portion of thefoot the lower and upper sections 10 and 1'1 and the intermediate cushioning section 12 are extended forwardly to provide a portion 16, which latter,

when the cushion is positioned in a boot or shoe, provides cushion for the ball portion of the foot and for the toes.

l/Vhere a cushion of this form is produced either the upper member 1l or lower member l0 may be provided intermediate to its ends with a transverse slot such as 17 which permits the insertion of a metatarsal button.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a device that may be readily inserted in or removed fromva shoe, boot or other footwear Y and which device cushions theV heel-seat,

` shank and the arch of the boot, shoe or'other GUT footwear, thereby materially improvingthe e it of the footwear in which the cushion is positioned and adding materially to the comfort of the wearer.

The cushion may or may not be provided with an opening` for the reception of ametatarsal button and if desired the body ofthe cushioning device may be extended forward so as to cover the entire front portion .of the insole of the boot or shoe. Y

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved footwear cushion may be made and substituted for those herein shown and'described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention: Y

As an article of manufacture, a footwear cushion comprising upper and Vlower layers of soft flexible material shaped so as to overlie the heel seat, shank and arch portions of footwear, the edges of both upper and lower layers being s kived and secured to each other by an adhesive, a continuous one-piece cushioning member of elastic compressible material arranged between said upper and lower layers, thatl portion of the cushioning member that is disposed between those portions of the upper and lower layers of material that overlie the heel seat and the shank of the footwear being of uniform thickness, that portion ofthe cushioningmaterial that overlies the inner longitudinal arch ofthe footwear being` increased in thickness at an intermediate transverse point with the side edges of the portion of increased thickness gradually decreasing in thickness toward the side edges of the cushion and there being an v opening formed between the front edges of those portions of the upper and lower layersl that overlie the shank of the footwear, which openingis for the reception of a metatarsal button. i

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

` EDWARD BAIRD. 

